Even though I added in a few days in Phu Quoc as a chance to get some much-needed sun and beach time, Laos was the main focus of my holiday.

I decided to start off in the capital of Vientiane (it has been the capital since 1563; the old capital was Luang Prabang). I read that there wasn’t all that much to see and do here, so I decided that two nights and one full day might be enough for me to find things to do. Luckily, I did manage to get through the basic sites that I planned on seeing (while riding a bicycle, no less). I have to agree, though, that there really aren’t a ton of things to see and do here. It sort of reminds me of Hanoi (although here there are numerous big and small temples to see).

The place I stayed was a boutique guest house. The scenery was quite nice, and the room was spacious (the ceiling was high, perhaps a bit too high).

The room itself was fine overall, although due to the walls and ceiling being rather high, it made it more difficult for the A/C to be effective and therefore disrupted my sleep. Another thing that disrupted my sleep was a bug that managed to bite my eyelid after my sleep mask had shifted a bit. It was this itching feeling that woke me up around 5 a.m. I could feel one eyelid was swollen, so I rushed to the bathroom to check. Sure enough, my eyelid looked just like it did when I had conjunctivitis.

Breakfast was included, so it was nice to get up and be able to have some of this each day if you wanted.

After taking far too long to figure out where I wanted to go and how to get there, I finally walked to the bike rental place and went on my merry way.

The first stop was a temple called Sisaket. This place is special because it is the only wat (temple) to have survived the attack from neighboring Siam in the eighteenth century.

The city itself isn’t really that big, so getting around by bike is feasible (although it can still be tiring with the heat and inhaling traffic fumes).

The next place on my list, Ho Phra Keo, is across the street from Sisaket, so I parked my bike and went in. This is the wat where the sacred Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaew) was once housed, until Siam invaded in 1778 and took it to Bangkok.

The last thing on my list took me longer to bike to, especially since by this time it was mid-afternoon and I was getting sweaty, thirsty, and tired out.

This temple is called Phra Thatluang. The site itself is said to date back to the third century AD. The original stupa was built in 1566 but was repeatedly damaged when the city was attacked over the centuries. It has been restored numerous times, the most recent being in 1953. This is also the temple that appears on Loa currency.

The last part of the day was to stop by the big arch while heading back towards my guest house. Paris has its own L’Arc de Triumph, but so does Vientiane; only it’s called the Patuxai Monument, which is at the end of Patuxai Park. It was built in 1960 when the US supplied cement to help build the airport. It was created in honor of those who fought for freedom against the French in 1949.

Though my time was rather short, I did manage to squeeze in what I wanted to see. The only thing I didn’t have time to see was Buddha Park, but from what I read, it sounds like it’s not that exciting of a place, nor the most important. It’s also an hour away by bus.

I did manage to go out to dinner at a place that was recommended to me.

Overall, it was a decent trip, although I’m not sure if I would take the time to come back again. But if I ever do come back to Laos, then I wouldn’t mind staying here for another day or two.

The real bulk of my trip to Laos was my trip to Luang Prabang. That is coming up next!